<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>EOME: Confederation by TricorderReadings</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30115011">EOME: Confederation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricorderReadings/pseuds/TricorderReadings'>TricorderReadings</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Enemy of my Enemy [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Voyager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:00:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30115011</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricorderReadings/pseuds/TricorderReadings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Maquis come to Voyager's aid against the Kazon, Janeway and Chakotay decide to ally their crews.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Enemy of my Enemy [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2216073</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>EOME: Confederation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was written in October 1997</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>Janeway stood on her bridge, her hands on hips, and glared out the front viewscreen with a look that should have frozen the stars. Paris had briefly glanced back at her when confirming orders and he was not keen to look again. If sheer determination alone could have defeated the Kazon, those cruisers would be space dust by now.</p><p>Janeway regarded the unfamiliar stars with disinterest, her frustration nearly boiling over. The Kazon had plagued them ever since they'd been pulled into this Quadrant. Even before the Caretaker's Array had been destroyed, the Kazon had shown themselves to be more likely to shoot first than to ask questions later. Now, with some kind of strange energy drain sapping the Federation ship's shields, it was only a matter of time before the blasts struck home. They were sitting ducks.</p><p>"Carey!" snapped Janeway into her badge. "Tell me you have good news!"</p><p>In engineering Lieutenant Carey wiped his brow on his sleeve and sighed audibly into the communications pin.</p><p>"I'm sorry Captain," he said, his frustrated tone matching hers, "but we just can't isolate it. The shields are going to fail."</p><p>****<br/>
"Chakotay, I'm picking up Kazon cruisers!" Torres's voice cut into Chakotay's thoughts. He'd been mulling over their supply situation. Their very low supply situation. Now his attention snapped back to the sensors. He cursed. The last thing they needed was to get into a fight with those annoying Delta natives. There goes the neighbourhood.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"Sir," Tuvok's voice was, as always, very cool and proper. Chakotay had yet to hear the man call him by his given name. "I'm also detecting another energy signature."</p><p>Chakotay felt something like relief sweep him. It was followed quickly by some guilt, some shame, that he would be pleased the Kazon had chosen another foe to tackle today.</p><p>"Anyone we know?" he asked, curious.</p><p>"It's Federation," was Tuvok's reply. B'Elanna jerked around in her seat to stare at Tuvok with amazement.</p><p>"Federation," whispered Chakotay, thinking back to the last time he'd seen a Federation ship. It was when they'd been returned to Fides after the Caretaker's assessment of them. The ship, Voyager, had been empty, her crew no doubt undergoing a similar experience to the Maquis. Chakotay had attempted to return to the Array, but the Caretaker had blocked their efforts. So instead, the rebels had boarded Voyager and accessed the main computer.</p><p>Voyager was on a mission to find the Maquis but Chakotay had no intention of being "found." Not able to help the Federation crew or access the Caretaker's power to send them back to the Alpha Quadrant, the Maquis decided to leave. The Kazon had been swarming around like angry bees looking for an enemy to tackle. Without the power to fight, the Maquis had fled.</p><p>Chakotay had assumed, from the little information they'd been able to acquire, that Voyager had managed to return to the Alpha Quadrant prior to the Array's destruction. Obviously, they hadn't.</p><p>"They are in trouble," added Tuvok. "Their shields are on the verge of collapse."</p><p>"On screen," murmured Chakotay, pondering this development. He watched the pesky, ugly Kazon battle cruisers, three of them, circle Voyager with a deliberate ease. A shot here and there, nothing too serious. They were waiting for the shields to go. It bothered the Maquis man to see such tactics, and so unnecessary. What had Voyager ever done to the Kazon to deserve such treatment?</p><p>They were all a long way from home, without any family, friends, or allies. Chakotay made a decision, tapping the console before him.</p><p>"We're going to help them."</p><p>"Are you crazy?" asked B'Elanna, her brow creasing with an ugly frown. "They came here to arrest us!"</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"They didn't come to the Delta Quadrant to arrest us, B'Elanna. They are victims of the Caretaker, just like we are. And they need help or those Kazon bastards are going to pick holes in them just for sport! Don't forget that old saying: The enemy of my enemy is my friend."</p><p>"They are both our enemies, Chakotay. Why would you pick the Federation to support?"<br/>
There was a pause. Chakotay couldn't really believe he had to explain it, but he wanted to be perfectly clear his intentions and his motives.</p><p>"We need all the allies we can get. They are heading in the same direction as we are. They are ... from home. Somehow, I think arrest warrants are the last thing on the mind of Voyager's captain right now."</p><p>*****<br/>
"Captain," Kim's tight voice rang out across the bridge. "I'm picking up another ship."</p><p>'Great, just great,' thought Janeway. She acknowledged Harry with a stiff nod, turning back to the viewscreen. Tom was doing his best to maneuver around and away from their attackers, but without warp power there was little he could do.</p><p>"It's not a Kazon ship," added Kim, after a moment's pause. "Captain, I think ... I think it's the Maquis ship!"</p><p>Janeway let her tight self-control slip a little, allowing an incredulous, "What?!" slip out of her mouth.</p><p>They hadn't seen Fides since first arriving in the Delta Quadrant. By the time the Caretaker had chosen to release them, the Maquis vessel had disappeared. Also by that time Janeway's priorities had greatly shifted. She was less interested in the rebels than she had been a mere three days earlier.</p><p>"Are they joining the Kazon attack?" asked Paris, his focus entirely on flying. "No," responded Kim, a little excited. "No, they're firing on the Kazon cruisers!"</p><p>Janeway watched the battle through the viewscreen, amazement stealing across her worried features. The little ship was more agile than the bulky Kazon warships, which allowed it to cut very close to the target before unleashing phaser power.</p><p>"Rollins! Do we have any phaser power left? Let's see if we can help them. Help them help us," Janeway ordered.</p><p>"Who is flying that thing?" Kim whispered, probably louder than he'd intended.</p><p>Paris, distracted slightly by the implied praise in the young man's voice, watched the battle scene for a moment before returning his attention to the helm.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"Gotta be Chakotay," he muttered, with some grudging but bitter respect.</p><p>"The Kazon are retreating," Kim informed the bridge.</p><p>Janeway let out a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Giving herself the briefest of seconds to regroup her frazzled nerves, she signalled to Harry.</p><p>"Hail the Maquis ship."</p><p>*****</p><p>"They're fleeing the scene!" Torres, despite her misgivings about helping the Federation ship, was jubilant to see their plan work so effectively. She held no love for Kazon. Chakotay merely nodded, like it was no more than he expected, like it was a foregone conclusion.</p><p>"We are being hailed," Tuvok stated.</p><p>Chakotay leaned forward slightly to activate the viewscreen himself. He saw the bridge of Voyager and he saw the captain. For some reason, her appearance took him off guard. He said nothing.</p><p>Janeway took in the neutral expression of the big man. She could see Tuvok behind him and for this she breathed a sigh of relief. The two leaders stared at one another. Janeway was uncertain what to call him and decided on his Starfleet rank.</p><p>"Commander Chakotay."</p><p>Chakotay was momentarily thrown by her familiarity with him but it was only a grim reminder that he was her prey. She probably knew a great deal about him, more than he would have liked. Well, he knew a few things about her too.</p><p>"Captain Janeway."</p><p>Chakotay was secretly pleased to see her surprised expression. She recovered quickly though; he had to admit that.</p><p>"Thank you," she said.</p><p>Whatever he'd been expecting that wasn't it. Not that he didn't think the captain would feel gratitude; it was obvious to all she'd been losing that fight. But he hadn't been anticipating such a blunt statement of her appreciation.</p><p>"You're welcome," he said.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"Commander," now she hesitated slightly but seemed to arrive at a decision quickly, "we may have similar goals. I think it makes sense to work together. Don't you?"</p><p>"I think it is something we both should consider," Chakotay agreed. He paused, then plunged forward with a trust he didn't know he possessed. "Why don't I come aboard Voyager and we can discuss the situation?"</p><p>She nodded agreement and he cut the channel before anything else was said.</p><p>"Are you sure about this?" asked Torres, a bit suspiciously.</p><p>"There is nothing in this life that is certain but death," quoted Chakotay.</p><p>"That's not exactly the reassurance I was looking for," muttered B'Elanna, turning away from him.</p><p>"I will go with you," stated Tuvok. Chakotay nodded. He considered taking Torres as well, but decided that she was a bit too volatile. This situation was very delicate. He chose Ayala instead.</p><p>*****</p><p>When Chakotay, Tuvok and Ayala materialized on the bridge, just down from Harry Kim's Ops station, Janeway turned with surprise. She had been getting ready to go down to the transporter room. The three of them stood in a triangle, backs together, with weapons drawn. Another sign that Voyager's power was failing, or the weapons would have been detected by the transporter sensors.</p><p>Although startled, Janeway was proud of the quick response of her bridge crew to raise their own weapons.</p><p>'Great Scott, are were we going to survive the Kazon only to have a shoot-out on our own bridge?' she wondered.</p><p>Swiftly she raised a hand and commanded her team to lower their phasers. She fixed Chakotay with a cold eye, trying not to be intimidated by his size and the fact that she had to look up into his face.</p><p>"You won't be needing those weapons here."</p><p>Tuvok immediately lowered his phaser and stepped away from Chakotay. Ayala waited until he saw his leader's arm lower before holstering his weapon.</p><p>'Well, that was something,' Janeway thought, noting both Chakotay's trust and Ayala's faith in his leader.</p><p>Any progress in their overture for friendship was then completely shattered by Tuvok informing Chakotay that he was actually a Federation spy, sent to infiltrate the Maquis. Chakotay took the information remarkably well, all things considered. Janeway saw shock and disbelief cross his face and then anger. It seemed a familiar expression to his dark features. She wondered where the anger would be directed, towards Tuvok, or himself.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>Turning away from the spy so that he wouldn't have to look upon his face, Chakotay caught sight of the Voyager pilot. Tom Paris. His expression darkened further and he allowed the anger he couldn't release at Tuvok spill forward onto the helmsman.</p><p>"Paris!" he sneered. "How much did they pay you to betray your friends this time?"</p><p>Paris turned somewhat reluctantly from the helm; his eyes coming up to meet Chakotay's slowly.</p><p>"Nice to see you in such fine form, Chakotay," he shot back. Chakotay took a step forward only to find the bridge crew raising their weapons again.</p><p>"Put those phasers down, NOW!" ordered Janeway, stepping quickly between the Maquis and Paris. This was not going well. The tension on the bridge was so thick it was tangible.</p><p>"Why don't we go into the ready room where we can discuss matters privately?" suggested Janeway. She'd phrased it like a question, but her tone told Chakotay that it was not open for debate. He nodded.</p><p>Janeway glanced around the bridge looking for someone who could take care of Ayala while she was meeting with Chakotay. Tuvok or Paris was out of the question and Rollins wasn't doing a good job of hiding his disgust. Kim. Kim was watching the scene below him with open curiosity and some wariness.</p><p>"Mr. Kim! Please escort our guest to the Mess Hall and see what kind of concoction Mr. Neelix has prepared for dinner."</p><p>"Yes, Captain," agreed Kim, without enthusiasm, but without any hostility either. Chakotay and Ayala exchanged glances, within which Janeway was certain there passed some unspoken communication.</p><p>"Mr. Rollins, the bridge is yours. Mr. Tuvok, welcome home. Mr. Chakotay, follow me."</p><p>*****</p><p>Janeway knew it was absurd but she felt a little embarrassed that she couldn't offer Chakotay something before their meeting. With their power fluctuating so wildly, Carey had put the replicators off-line until further notice. Janeway was itching for some coffee. Still she was buoyed somewhat from the adrenaline of the firefight and the close call. She was under no illusions; she owed this man her life and the lives of her crew.</p><p>Chakotay stood warily just inside the door of the room, his eyes calmly looking over the surroundings and assessing them. They looked her up and down too, assessing.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"Going our way, Commander?" asked Janeway lightly, hoping to break the tense mood that had developed on the bridge.</p><p>"We have been heading towards the Alpha Quadrant, but I'm not sure how long we might last. I have been keeping an eye out for any place that might serve as a colony for us," he told her frankly.</p><p>"You know why we are here?" She circled around behind her desk, and then decided she couldn't sit there with him still standing uncomfortably by the door.</p><p>"You ... and Tuvok have been working to arrest us."</p><p>"That's right," she admitted. "You are wanted for crimes against the Cardassian government in violation of the Treaty with the Federation."</p><p>Chakotay said nothing.</p><p>"You are a terrorist."</p><p>He was still silent, drawing a deep breath.</p><p>'Oh my god,' he thought, 'she is going arrest me after all.'</p><p>"Captain, if I may be blunt, we are a long way from the DMZ. To me, survival is more important than Cardassian law, or Federation law for that matter."</p><p>"I'm inclined to agree Commander," she said, after a long moment. She walked back around in front of her desk to face him, arms crossed.</p><p>'Damn but he was cold! Did nothing rattle this man's cage?' she wondered.</p><p>"We could convoy together," he suggested simply, without any indication of whether or not he cared if she said yes or no.</p><p>"Voyager would offer you greater protection than you have with Fides. What do you have to offer Voyager?" Even to Janeway it came off sounding pompous and silly, especially considering the fact that he had just saved their hides.</p><p>"Well, for one thing," he said coldly, "right now we have power, and you ... do not."</p><p>"Do you think that we could work together?" she asked. "After all, in another place we are enemies."</p><p>"If we were in that other place we would still be enemies Captain Janeway. But we are not. Working together is ... logical, as Tuvok would say." The words twisted in his mouth and came out bitter sounding.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"And when we get back to that place?" Janeway turned from him to look out at the unfamiliar stars. She didn't really expect an answer.</p><p>"We may take a lifetime getting there. I prefer not to speculate on the paths we might walk in the process."</p><p>The door chime bleeped behind him, startling him somewhat. An annoyed look flashed across her face. He stepped away as she bade the interruption to enter. It was Tuvok.</p><p>"Captain, I believe I have information which may be pertinent to your discussion." He had anticipated her anger at being disturbed.</p><p>"Yes, what is it?" she asked. Tuvok did not look at Chakotay, nor even acknowledge that the other man was in the room. Instead, he stepped further inside and stood in front of his captain, stiffly at attention as a sign of respect and deference.</p><p>'How easily I was deceived,' marveled Chakotay, furious with himself for not uncovering the duplicity of the Vulcan.</p><p>"Having lived and worked with Mr. Chakotay's group for the past several months I can say with some certainty that an alliance with them is not desirable."</p><p>Chakotay felt the words hit him almost like a physical blow. What a bad day this was turning out to be!</p><p>Janeway looked from Tuvok over to Chakotay. The Maquis was staring at the ground, one hand clenching and unclenching a fist as though he was trying to maintain control over his temper. All things considered he was doing a fairly decent job. Janeway was a bit surprised that Chakotay hadn't struck out at Tuvok, or reacted to his recommendation with heated words. It was obvious that Chakotay was dismayed by Tuvok's advice.</p><p>It suddenly occurred to Janeway that she didn't really know Chakotay very well. Before Tuvok had entered the Maquis cell, the two of them had gone over Starfleet Intelligence information on the commander, including all sorts of reports on him from Starfleet Academy, where he'd been an instructor. As Janeway had filtered Tuvok's reports over to Starfleet she had also formed an image of the Maquis cell leader. At the beginning of this mission, if asked, she would have said she knew him. Now, with him standing before her, she realized that her opinion of the man was based entirely on others' impressions of him. It bothered her to think that she was prejudging him without knowing him.</p><p>"Why is that, Tuvok?" she asked, her eyes still on Chakotay.</p><p>"The group of people under Commander Chakotay are largely undisciplined without any common goal, save to harass the Cardassians. Many of them have reason to hate Starfleet, some with almost as much venom as they hate the Cardassian Empire. They would just as soon take Voyager as collaborate with us."</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>Chakotay's head jerked up at Tuvok's words and he eyed the Vulcan coldly.</p><p>"I'm sure that Captain Janeway's Starfleet crew holds very little love in their hearts for the Maquis," he observed quietly.</p><p>He was too quiet, Janeway was thinking. She would have expected him to be more explosive, more volatile.</p><p>"If I make the decision to ally with you, then my crew will conform to my decision," Janeway said, decisively. "Commander, you spent a great deal of time in Starfleet. I'm sure you remember the protocols and procedures on a Starfleet vessel."</p><p>"I'm no longer a Starfleet officer, Captain," he said, with a slight smile. "But yes, I do remember the protocol fairly well."</p><p>"What kind of assurance can you give me that your crew will agree to any collaboration between us?" asked Janeway.</p><p>"None," stated Tuvok. Janeway's eyes flashed back to her chief of security quickly.</p><p>"I was asking Commander Chakotay," she said sharply.</p><p>"Tuvok is right to tell you that we do not follow the same discipline of a Starfleet vessel. And he is correct in his assessment that many aboard the Fides have reason to ... dislike Starfleet. But he was wrong to imply that we do not have common goals." Chakotay's voice was equally sharp. He reminded Janeway of a large wild animal, perhaps a bear. "They will cooperate because I ask them to."</p><p>"That's your assurance?" she asked amazed.</p><p>"Isn't it yours, Captain?" was his response with that little smile again.</p><p>'Touché, Commander,' thought Janeway, returning his smile with a little one of her own.</p><p>"Thank you Tuvok. Dismissed," she said abruptly. Tuvok hesitated briefly, then left without another word, nor even a glance in Chakotay's direction.</p><p>Almost following Tuvok to the door Janeway came to stand very close to Chakotay. She looked up at him, her chin out defiantly, her stance aggressive. He looked down at her warily.</p><p>"Listen to me, mister," she said, her voice low but strong, "this ship is not going to be taken by the Maquis. Not now, not in the future - no matter what the consequences of our agreement."</p><p>Chakotay took a step back, more to gain some perspective than out of any fear of her. Although, she was a little intimidating, he had to admit to himself. After a moment he shook his head sadly.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"If that is your attitude, Captain, and the attitude of your crew, then this is not going to work. I'll just get Ayala and we'll be on our way. Good luck with the repairs."</p><p>"And if I don't let you go?" she asked him, tilting her head to one side.</p><p>Chakotay drew a sharp breath, wondering how he could have stepped so close to the brig once again.</p><p>"Don't be deceived by the size of Fides," he said. "Without your shields in place she could do some serious damage to you."</p><p>They were at an impasse. Chakotay knew that he should just leave the ready room, collect Ayala from the Mess Hall and take his crew away. He hesitated, not wanting to let this opportunity go without knowing that they really had tried before allowing it to fail. He was also not sure that he could just walk away and leave Voyager nearly adrift in space, with no power to defend herself.</p><p>Then Janeway surprised him by laughing.</p><p>"Commander, you are an intriguing man," she told him, and had the pleasure of seeing him thrown off guard for the first time since he'd arrived on Voyager. "We both have enormous faith in our crews and we both are determined to provide homes for them. If we are united in that, surely we can be united together?"</p><p>"Let's see what we can do," Chakotay agreed, cautiously. "First thing's first, I'll bring over my engineer to fix your power trouble."</p><p>"That's rather cocky of you, don't you think?" Janeway asked. "You don't even know what the problem is."</p><p>"Maybe not," Chakotay said with a grin, "but I do know my engineer."</p><p>*****</p><p>Ayala had been having a very uncomfortable meal with Harry Kim when Chakotay arrived and told him they were leaving the ship. Ayala wasn't sorry to go. Harry had been trying to be polite, but he couldn't quite contain his discomfort and he couldn't stop the other Voyager crew members from voicing hostility towards the Maquis.</p><p>Stepping up onto the transporter platform Chakotay turned to face Ayala. In a voice too low for the transporter chief to make out the Maquis leader told his crewman,</p><p>"What happened between you and the ensign is your business to tell. What happened on the bridge is mine. Understood?"</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>Ayala nodded and the two were returned to the Fides.</p></div></div><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>Even before the transporter beam had finished its tingling on his skin Chakotay could see many of his crew gathering around, curious and wary.</p><p>"We have ourselves an alliance," Chakotay told them, with classic understatement. No need to go into how close they'd come to just leaving Voyager. No need to confess that he couldn't have abandoned the Starfleet ship in its current state.</p><p>"Where's Tuvok?" asked Dalby, while the others tried to absorb Chakotay's information.</p><p>"Tuvok is a member of Captain Janeway's crew," Chakotay informed them, the words coming out with more bitterness than he would have liked to show.</p><p>"You mean he was a SPY?" asked B'Elanna with amazement. Her open mouth snapped shut with the glare that Chakotay threw her way. There were murmurings among the others.</p><p>"How could you?" accused Seska. "How could you make an alliance with them after they did that to you?"</p><p>She was making this very personal, something that Chakotay didn't need to hear right now. He made it personal enough all by himself.</p><p>"How could I?" he repeated, advancing on her. "I'll tell you how. With a handshake and an assurance that my crew would cooperate, that's how. Because we need them. Right now they need us, but in the future we are the ones who are going to be relying on them. So if any of you don't feel like you are able to cooperate you'd better speak up now!"</p><p>He turned full circle, making eye contact with each of them. He actually thought for a moment that some of them might protest further but the room was silent.</p><p>"What do they need us for?" asked Chell, a bit timidly. "The Kazon have gone."</p><p>"They're having some problem in engineering. I told Captain Janeway I'd bring B'Elanna over to fix it."</p><p>"You WHAT?!" blasted Torres after she absorbed his words. "What the hell were you thinking? We don't know what's wrong over there! It could be anything! How could you tell her I'd fix everything when we don't even know what's wrong?!"</p><p>"Because I have great faith in your abilities," Chakotay said with an encouraging smile. He clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get going. Who else should we bring?"</p><p>*****</p>
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>By the time Chakotay returned to Fides for the second time that day, most of the Maquis crew had turned in for the night. The small ship was quiet, save for the usual rattles, and the quiet murmurs of the night shift. Chakotay was too tired to do much but acknowledge the bridge crew, bid Torres goodnight, and go to his quarters.</p><p>Propped up on the upper bunk, Kurt was still awake and working on a PADD. Kurt was a night owl, much more so than Chakotay. Although the Maquis leader could work with very little sleep, Kurt didn't seem to need sleep at all. Chakotay had long ago learned to sleep with the light on in their tiny cabin.</p><p>Kurt insisted on having the upper bunk, saying that it was more practical if he was to work for him to be near the light. But Chakotay suspected that Kurt was a little claustrophobic on the lower bunk and he could hardly blame his friend. On the few occasions when the lights did go out, Chakotay found the closeness of the upper bunk to be nearly smothering. It always seemed a lot nearer in the dark.</p><p>On this particular night, Chakotay couldn't have cared if Kurt had decided to throw a party in the cabin. He was nearly asleep standing up.</p><p>"You've been a long time over there," Kurt commented.</p><p>Chakotay merely grunted and collapsed on his bunk. Eyes already closed, he pulled off his boots, allowing them to fall noisily to the floor. He sighed, debating whether or not he had the energy to sit back up and pull off his sweater, or if he wanted to sleep in it. Kurt leaned his head over the bunk to look at his friend with amused eyes.</p><p>"So?"</p></div></div><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"So what?" mumbled Chakotay.</p></div></div><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>"So what happened on Voyager? Did B'Elanna get things working again?"</p></div></div><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>When Chakotay didn't respond Kurt threw his PADD down onto his leader's chest.</p><p>"There is something I want to say to you, Bendera, but it is rude and unfriendly. Leave me alone. Goodnight!" Chakotay growled.</p><p>"Long day, huh?" continued Kurt, as though he was blissfully unaware of Chakotay's short fuse.</p><p>Chakotay opened his eyes, picked up the PADD and swung himself off the bunk so quickly that Kurt pulled back with some alarm. But Chakotay merely placed the PADD on a shelf on the far side of the tiny room, and pulled off his sweater. Before returning to a horizontal position he looked Kurt in the eyes.</p><p>"You wanna know what happened? Fine. Torres nearly killed their Chief Engineer. Put him in sickbay with a broken nose. Blood all over the place. Tuvok wanted to throw her in the brig as a result. It was nasty. It was ... personal."</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>Chakotay lowered himself back onto his bunk, mentally calculating the number of hours of sleep he had coming and knowing that it wasn't enough even before he began.</p><p>"Torres is in the brig?! Are you SERIOUS?" Kurt hopped off his bed so that he could face Chakotay without hanging down over the edge of the bunk.</p><p>"No, she's not in the brig! Do you think I would leave her over there in the brig?!" Chakotay snapped. "I convinced Janeway that it wouldn't contribute to our newly formed good relations if she came down hard on my engineer."</p><p>There was a pause. Kurt paced as well he could in the small space.</p><p>"Of course, the fact that Torres was able to fix the power problem right away, when Carey still hadn't a clue what was wrong probably helped a lot too," Chakotay admitted, with some pride. He had known Torres could do it all along.</p><p>*****</p><p>**Captain's Personal Log: I made an alliance with the Maquis today. It seems to me no small irony that Commander Chakotay and I would come to work together, when my mission mandate was to incarcerate him and his crew. However, as soon as we were swept into this Quadrant, the mandate changed. It is now one of survival. Commander Chakotay came to our aid at great risk to his own ship. Without the Maquis, Voyager would be in the hands of the Kazon, or destroyed. I know that.</p><p>Yet it galls me to be beholden to a criminal.</p><p>He is not at all how I expected. In fact, he seemed more upset to find Paris on this ship, than to discover Tuvok was a spy. Maybe he was projecting his anger at Tuvok onto Tom, I don't know. But still, he was a lot calmer, a lot more focused than I thought he would be.</p><p>If we hadn't been sitting helpless without power, and Carey without any ideas on how to correct the problem, I would have been tempted to brush Chakotay off. I have no wish to carry his crew in my brig for the next 60 or 70 years. And an alliance with them seems to me to be a risky venture, with me taking all the risk and him reaping all the benefits.</p><p>And yet ... and yet ... he brought over his engineer and she has us back to 70% power. Power that includes phasers and shields and all the means for us to take them into custody.</p><p>It was very unfortunate that his engineer, a half-Klingon woman, took offense to Carey and decided to try to splatter his brains in the warp core. I have no doubt that had Commander Chakotay not been there to intervene she would have killed Carey.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="page">
<p></p><div class="section">
<p></p><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>That scares me. A lot.</p></div></div><div class="layoutArea">
<p></p><div class="column"><p>He defended her well, and reminded me of our agreement. He handles his crew; I handle mine. And Torres was able to repair our engine. Tuvok is very disapproving, but I let her go with a stern warning. I don't know if she was listening to me, her whole posture screamed defiance. But I have a feeling that Commander Chakotay wasn't finished having words with her, and she respects him a great deal. That much was obvious.</p><p>And something tells me that maybe Carey was asking for it. That scares me too.</p></div></div></div></div>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>